Willhite Named Ivy League Defensive Player Of Year; Mangano First Team Selection

Reggie Willhite (Ron Waite photo)

Mar 07, 2012

Duo Have Helped Bulldogs To 19 Wins

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Two seniors who have helped the Yale men's basketball team to its most overall wins in a decade have been honored by the Ivy League. Greg Mangano, who leads the league in rebounding (9.7 rpg.) and blocks (64) and is second in scoring (18.2 ppg.), earned first team All-Ivy recognition for the second straight year, while Reggie Willhite, who leads the league with a single-season school record 63 steals, was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Willhite also was a second team All-Ivy selection.

Mangano becomes only the seventh player in Yale history and the first since Paul Maley in 1987 and 1988 to earn multiple first team All-Ivy selections. Willhite is Yale's first Defensive Player of the Year. The award was instituted at the start of the 2008-09 season.

Mangano had another dominating season for the Bulldogs. He has 14 double-doubles and has scored at least 20 points in a game 14 times as well. Mangano has been at his best against the most challenging opponents. He had 20 points and 12 rebounds at Wake Forest, 26 points and 15 rebounds at Florida and averaged 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games against Harvard. In addition, he averaged 21.5 points and 11 rebounds in Yale's home sweep of Penn and Princeton. He also posted one of the most dominant performances in recent memory when he scored 35 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in a win over St. Joseph (L.I.).

In Ivy League games, Mangano averaged a league best 8.7 rebounds and 16.6 points, which was third.

Mangano, an Orange, Conn., native, has appeared in 101 games in his career. He is Yale's all-time leader with 212 career blocks, which is the third most in Ivy history. In addition, his 727 rebounds are the sixth most, and he has scored 1,196 points.

Willhite, an Elk Grove, Calif., native, has been one of the most versatile players in the Ivy League. In addition to his outstanding defense, he is in the top-10 in the league in four offensive categories – field goal percentage (fifth, .478), assists (sixth, 4.0 per game), scoring (seventh, 12.2 ppg.) and assist\turnover ratio (eighth, 1.4).

Willhite's 63 steals broke the school record Alex Zampier set in 2009-10. His 130 career steals are tied for the seventh most in Yale history.

The Bulldogs, who finished the regular season 19-9 overall and 9-5 in Ivy play, hope the careers of Mangano and Willhite are not over. Yale is expecting to receive an invitation to either the CBI or CIT post season tournament. The fields are expected to be announced late on Sunday.